Congress: Newfound urgency for the debt panel?

The New York Times: “The downgrade of the United States government’s credit rating by Standard & Poor’s is almost sure to increase pressure on a new Congressional ‘supercommittee’ to mute ideological disagreements and recommend a package of deficit-reduction measures far exceeding its original goal of at least $1.5 trillion, lawmakers said Sunday.”

The Washington Post writes about the origins of the debt showdown. “The frantic showdown that followed, bringing the nation to the brink of default, looked like the haphazard escalation of a typical partisan standoff. It wasn’t.”

“It was the natural outgrowth of a years-long effort by GOP recruiters to build a new majority and reverse the party’s fortunes. That effort began before the economy collapsed in 2008, before the government bailouts that followed, before the tea party rose in response to push its anti-tax, anti-spending message.”